Swingin' On Broadway
Voted one of the Top 10 albums of 2008 by In Tune magazine.
Swingin’ on Broadway celebrates songs from some of the world’s favourite musicals including Anything Goes, The King & I, Annie, Gypsy, Marry Poppins, and more recent Broadway hit shows Wicked and Spamalot.
The standards of the Great American Songbook were born of vaudeville and early musical theatre, and their ubiquitous composers feature heavily on this release, including the Sherman brothers, Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe, and of course, the Gershwins. Cole Porter’s captured with the theme from ‘Anything Goes’, while Rodgers and Hammerstein are represented with songs from ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oklahoma!’.
Clive Dunstall’s lyrical arrangement of ‘The Surrey With The Fringe On Top’, with echoes of Oscar Peterson, is a particular delight. In a nod to his centennial year, it’s great to be reminded of Alec Wilder’s ‘It’s A Fine Day For Walking Country Style’; and ‘All I Need Is The Girl’ with Mike Smith’s drum solo is another standout track. Includes: Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins, All I Need Is The Girl from Gypsy, Anything Goes from Anything Goes, Favourite Things from The Sound of Music, Wonderful from Wicked and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from Spamalot.
Reviews
“Master arrangers Clive Dunstall and Andrew Cottee are the perfect people to settle Gary Williams into a smooth and swinging groove as he ambles effortlessly down Broadway, one minute plucking out the unlikely Chim Chim Cheree and the next riding The Surrey With The Fringe On Top. And then Richard Rodney Bennett joins him as arranger and celeste player for the Gershwin’s Isn’t It A Pity and the set ends (naturally!) with Always Look On The Bright Side from Spamalot. It’s a well-paced CD of enjoyable variety, skilfully performed. Gary’s in great voice and all’s well. I think I would rate this his best showing to date. Impressive sound balance achieved by producers John Wilson and Mike Dutton. Five stars.” Radio 2’s Malcolm Laycock for Big Band World Magazine
"This is a must have CD"
“This latest CD from Gary Williams is the perfect companion for the earlier “In the Lounge with Gary Williams and his Musicians on BOS6814. From the opening song “Chim Chim Cheree” from Mary Poppins through to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Spamalot the pace is well handled both vocally and instrumentally with plenty of opportunity for the soloists to shine. Pianist Clive Dunstall accompanies Gary expertly throughout and there is a super sax solo from Luke Annesley on “Who Will Buy?” from Oliver! Likewise Phil Lee can be heard performing a super guitar solo during the Alec Wilder song. And, a fairly rare instrument the celeste is played by Richard Rodney Bennett on the Gershwin’s “Isn’t it a Pity”. Vibraphone player Justin Woodward clears away the mist for an enchanting sequence during “On a Clear Day” whilst Gary creates yet another memorable performance. The running time is approx 45 minutes. This is a must have CD.” Clive Fuller for Encore Magazine